Fig 2: Dose-response relationship between BAFF levels and risk of the composite endpoint. (A) Dose-response relationship between BAFF levels and risk of MACEs; (B) Dose-response relationship between BAFF levels and risk of cardiovascular death. Abbreviation: Restricted cubic spline curve was carried out with 4 knots at the 5th, 25th, 75th, and 95th percentiles of baseline BAFF levels. The reference point was the median of the BAFF in the 299 participants. The solid line represented point estimation on the association of BAFF with events, and the shaded portion represented 95% CI estimation. Covariates in the model included age, sex, BMI, smoking, history of hypertension, history of DM, history of dyslipidemia, WBC, hs-CRP and LVEF. MACEs: major adverse cardiovascular events; BAFF: B-cell activating factor; BMI: body mass index; hs-CRP: high sensitivity C-reactive protein; WBC: white blood cell; hs-CRP: high sensitivity C-reactive protein; LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction; DM: diabetes mellitus; HR: hazard ratio; CI: confidence interval.

Fig 3: Receiver operating characteristic curve for BAFF in major adverse cardiovascular events. Abbreviation: BAFF, B-cell activating factor; AUC, Area under the curve.

Fig 4: Kaplan–Meier curves of free from follow-up events stratifying by tertiles and a cut-off value of the BAFF levels. (A) Kaplan–Meier curve of free from follow-up MACEs stratifying by tertiles of the BAFF levels; (B) Kaplan–Meier curve of free from follow-up MACEs stratifying by the cut-off value of the BAFF levels; (C) Kaplan–Meier curve of free from follow-up cardiovascular death stratifying by tertiles of the BAFF levels; (D) Kaplan–Meier curve of free from follow-up cardiovascular death stratifying by the cut-off value of the BAFF levels. Abbreviation: MACEs: major adverse cardiovascular events; BAFF: B-cell activating factor. Abbreviation: BAFF, B-cell activating factor.